Master Re-Scheduling Notice for February 24/25

Below is the master list of games to be played this coming weekend, February 24 and 25. The attached master re-scheduling notice is five pages long and includes the complete list of games (a LISA Cup final, a Lower Island B Cup final, Island B Cup qualifiers for the provincials, league games and even one District Cup match and one tiebreaker to determine a league winner) that are to be played in every division.

The District Cup playdowns begin this Saturday, February 24, for Boys U13 Silver. It is the only draw that starts this weekend. District Cup draws of five to eight teams will start the weekend of March 3/4 and those with three or four will begin March 10/11.

The opening round match-up in Boys U13 Silver is included in the attached master re-scheduling list and it is identified as such: District Cup Round 1. There are 9 teams in the Boys U13 Silver District Cup. That means there will be just one Round 1 game. The other seven teams have drawn byes into the quarter-finals March 3. For those teams not playing in the opening-round District Cup match other games have been scheduled plus one bye (see the attached master list).

There must be a winner in all District Cup matches. If the score is tied at the end of regulation there will be extra time. Extra time is not sudden death. The full amount of extra time must be played no matter how many goals are scored. Extra time for Boys U13 is 2 x 10-minute halves. If the score is still tied after the full extra time is played the winner will be determined by a FIFA penalty shootout. (for more information about the District Cup see further below)

PROVINCIAL/COASTAL B CUP

The Provincial/Coastal B Cup competition continues this weekend.

One Lower Island final (Boys U18) was not played this past weekend because of snow on their artificial turf field. In addition their back-up field was also closed. The Boys U18 Lower Island B Cup final between Peninsula/Prospect Lake and Bays United Ultras has been re-scheduled to Sunday, February 25.

In all other divisions from U14 to U18 the Lower Island reps will be playing the Upper Island reps. The winners of these Island finals will all qualify for their provincial tournaments, July 5-8 (the boys in Burnaby and the girls in Kamloops). Both the winners of these Island finals and the losers will continue on in the Coastal B Cup carrying on to play Lower Mainland teams in the quarter-final rounds the weekend of April 14/15.

The Lower Island will be hosting the U14, U16 and U18 Island finals for both boys and girls. The Upper Island will host the U15s and U17s. At the time this weekly re-scheduling notice was distributed the game field and start time for these Island finals had not yet been confirmed.

In the U13 age group for both boys and girls there are no Upper Island entrants so the winners of the Lower Island finals have already qualified for their provincial tournaments. Both the winners and losers of the U13 Lower Island finals will continue on in the Coastal B Cup carrying on to play Lower Mainland teams in the quarter-final rounds the weekend of April 14/15.

Remember: There must be a winner in all “B” Cup matches. If the two teams are tied on goals at the end of regulation time the teams will play two equal halves of extra time as per the duration for their age division. From U13 up to and including U16 that is 2 x 10-minute halves. For U17 and U18 that is 2 x 15-minute halves. The full length of the extra time will be played no matter how many goals are scored during the two extra-time halves.

If the score is tied at the conclusion of the full extra time session the outcome of the match will be decided by kicks from the penalty spot, as per FIFA rules.

SCORE REPORTING – For the Island finals all Lower Island teams are to report their score to their league score recorder as well as the district scheduler (Brian Davis ag9@telus.net or 250-598-6274) as soon as possible. You must also report if your match is not played and provide the reason why.

DETERMINING LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

The rules for determining league champions are posted on the LISA website. In the drop-down box for the ABOUT tab go to “Rules” and click on “LISA Rules and Regulations.” (See Chapter 3, rule 303 Determining League Winners.)

The team that is declared the league champion is not always the team with the most points at the end of the league season. Because of field closures and league play being interrupted by cup competitions (Provincial/Coastal B Cup, LISA Cup) teams do not always play the same number of games against the same opponents. In addition the reason for outstanding games can vary. So when it comes to determining the league champions LISA applies the rules mentioned above.

As noted in the rules, league winners are determined by “completed rounds.” That is why the schedules are drawn up on a round-by-round basis – teams are scheduled to play all their opponents once (which constitutes a “round”) before they are scheduled to play any opponent a second time.

The first definition of a “completed round” is as expected: all the games scheduled for that round have been played. LISA’s rules also define a “completed round” as one in which a team has mathematically clinched first place. In other words, no team could catch the first-place team even if they won all their un-played games in that round.

Continuing with the rules to determine a league champion, the first time two teams play each other it is their Round 1 game. The second time they play each other it is their Round 2 game, and so on. It does not matter where the game was played (i.e. which team was home or which team was visitor).

For instance, if two teams played each other during Round 1 as listed on their schedule, missed playing during Round 2 because the field was closed, and then played each other during the Round 3 dates on their schedule, in order to determine the league champion the result from the game played during Round 3 would officially be considered their Round 2 result.

Another part of the rule that sometimes has to be taken into consideration: a team can be eliminated from winning the league title during a round that does not meet the definition of “complete.”

For instance, after two complete rounds the Maroon Team is in first place but during Round 3 the Maroon Team starts losing games. At the end of league play Round 3 can not be classified as “complete” as no team has mathematically clinched first place. However after losing Round 3 games the Maroons can no longer mathematically end up in first place. So even though the Maroons were in first place at the end of the last completed round they can not be declared the league champion as they had played themselves out of contention.

If in applying LISA’s rules for determining league champions two (or more) teams end up tied for first place they will play a tiebreaker match in cup format (i.e. extra time and a FIFA penalty shootout, if needed) with the winning team capturing the league title. No other tiebreakers (e.g. head-to-head, goal differential, winning percentage etc.) are used to determine a league champion.

For more information see Chapter 3 on the Rules and Regulations page on the LISA website.

In Girls U13 & U14 Gold all league games on their original schedule have been played. There are no outstanding games. All other leagues still have league games yet to play. Some have passed the last date on their schedule but there are teams with outstanding league games to play.

The following teams have clinched their league titles based upon all the rounds/games listed on their schedules (“clinched” means these teams have earned enough points that no other team can catch them no matter what the outcome of all the un-played games on their schedule):

Boys U13 Gold – Prospect Lake/Peninsula (Nandhra)

Boys U13 Silver – Juan de Fuca (Polderman)

Boys U14 Gold – Bays United (Muntaser)

Boys U14 Silver – Prospect Lake (Aitchison)

Boys U15 Silver – Salt Spring (Shugar)

Boys U18/17 Silver – Prospect Lake/Peninsula (Coulson)

Girls U13 Gold – Bays United (Cunningham)

Girls U14 Gold – Cowichan Valley (Rowlings)

Girls U16 Gold – Juan de Fuca (Smith)

Girls U18/17 Gold – Bays United (Ryan)

Girls U18/17 Silver – Bays United (Buell)

As league play is still under way (except in Girls U13 & U14 Gold) only those teams that have “clinched” league championships are included in the above list. It does not matter how large a lead a team might have if they have not clinched first place then they can not be included in the above list.

All league champions will receive a trophy and medals. The teams and clubs will be informed when their awards are ready for pick up from the LISA office (probably sometime around February 21 or shortly thereafter).

GOLD LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

The Vancouver Island champion is determined by the Island Invitational Cup which features the Lower Island Gold league champion vs. the Upper Island winner. The 54th edition of Island Cup, also known as the Tournament of Champions, will be hosted by the Upper Island district April 28/29 in Powell River.

The Vancouver Island Invitational Cup is not part of the Provincial/Coastal B Cup or associated with it in any way. It is a separate competition. The winner of the Island Cup does not advance to any other competition.

Please note that there will be Island Cup finals in both Girls U17 and Girls U18 as well as for both Boys U17 and Boys U18 so, even though U17 and U18 teams play in the same league and there will only be one league champion recognized, two teams – one U17 and one U18 – will represent the Lower Island in the Island Invitational Cup. One of those reps will be the U18/17 Gold league champion and the other will be the highest-finishing team (based upon LISA’s rules for determining league champions) in the other age group.

In the U13 division for both boys and girls the Island Invitational Cup will be 8 v 8 (not 11-a-side).

Gold league champions, Island Invitational Cup reps and the Lower Island B Cup reps are not eligible for the Lower Island District Cup.

SILVER AND BRONZE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Silver and Bronze league champions are promoted for the Lower Island District Cup competition. The Bronze league champion competes in the Silver District Cup and the Silver league champion competes in the Gold District Cup. This “promotion” is for the District Cup competition only; it does not mean that those teams are automatically promoted for league play the following season.

LOWER ISLAND DISTRICT CUP

The District Cup is the final competitive program of the Lower Island season. It is not a league playoff. It is a single-elimination, random draw, cup competition for Lower Island teams that are not Lower Island representatives in an inter-district competition (e.g. B Cup, Island Invitational Cup). The winner of the District Cup does not advance to any other competition.

For the Lower Island District Cup Silver and Bronze league champions are promoted to a higher level of play. The Bronze league champion competes in the Silver District Cup and the Silver league champion competes in the Gold District Cup as those teams have, over the course of the season, proven themselves to be the best team in their league.

The Gold league champion is not eligible for the District Cup. The Gold league champion represents the Lower Island in the Island Invitational Cup and will play against the Upper Island rep for the Island championship.

The start date for the District Cup playdowns depends upon the number of teams in each draw. If there are more than eight teams entered in a draw they will start their playdowns the weekend of February 24/25. Draws with five to eight teams entered will start with the quarter-final round March 3/4. The semi-finals (and draws with three or four teams) will take place March 10/11.

All District Cup finals will be hosted by the Sooke Soccer Association the weekend of April 7/8.

When teams lose in the District Cup playdowns they are eliminated from the competition and LISA stops scheduling for them. In other words, their 2017/18 Lower Island season is over. Once their District Cup play begins a team can no long make up any outstanding league games – no matter how many outstanding games that team might have.

There must be a winner in all District Cup matches.

During the playdowns leading up to the final (i.e. “the round of 16,” the quarter-finals and semi-finals), if the score is tied at the end of regulation there will be extra time. Extra time is not sudden death. The full amount of extra time must be played no matter how many goals are scored. Extra time for those divisions that play the full 90-minute game (i.e. U17 and U18) is 2 x 15-minute halves. All other divisions play 2 x 10-minute halves.

If the score is still tied after the full extra time is played the winner of the match will be determined by a FIFA penalty shootout.

Please make sure your referees are aware that games tied at the end of regulation will go to extra time and if still tied to a FIFA penalty shootout. The rules for the LISA Cup playdowns were different.

BOTH TEAMS must report their District Cup score to their score recorder. If your match went into extra time or a FIFA penalty shootout please include that information as well. For example, the score at the end of regulation, the score after extra time and, if you know it, how many goals each team scored in the penalty shootout itself. Please report the goals scored in a penalty shootout separately from the game score – do not add the shootout goals to the number of goals scored by the teams during regulation and extra time.

Youth-to-youth permits can not be used for the District Cup competition.

For more information see Chapter 1 on the Rules and Regulations page on the LISA website.

*** At this time of the season communication between teams, their opponents and their clubs is very important. Do not assume everybody will receive the re-scheduling notice that is emailed out every week. Teams should contact their opposition far enough in advance to confirm their games for each weekend.